Ontario Teachers' Manuals: History Part 4

THE TOPICAL METHOD

In studying a certain period of history the events are arranged under topics or heads; for example, the period of discovery in Canadian History may be arranged thus--Discoveries, Explorations, Early Settlements, Indian Wars--and the study of each of these pursued to completion, contemporary events belonging to other topics being neglected for a time.

Events having the same underlying purpose, though occurring in different periods, may be arranged under one topic for review; for example, all the voyages of discovery to America may be grouped under the topic, "The Road to Cathay." (See p. 92.) In this way a comprehensive knowledge is gained. This method gives a full treatment of each topic and may be used to best advantage in connection with reviews in junior cla.s.ses and occasionally as a text-book or library exercise in senior cla.s.ses.

2. _Methods based on the treatment of historical facts_: Comparative, Regressive, Concentric

THE COMPARATIVE METHOD

By this method a comparison is made between two events, two biographies, two reigns, etc., a very useful device when applied in connection with other methods.

THE REGRESSIVE METHOD

In this method the pupil is expected to begin with the present and work backward; that is, to begin with inst.i.tutions as they are to-day and to work back through the various steps in their progress to their present state. This method may be followed most profitably in advanced cla.s.ses.

In junior cla.s.ses it is sufficient to refer to things as they exist to-day in order to arouse curiosity regarding the facts of history that are to be taught; for example, by the use of local material; by a visit to some place of historical interest to prepare for the story of what has occurred there in the past. (See p. 112.)

THE CONCENTRIC METHOD

This method, which is much used, deals in ever widening circles with the same topic or event; for example, a simple story of Champlain's life and voyages to Canada is told to Form II; the same story is considered again in Form III, but this time the different voyages are noted, the results of each investigated, and the whole summarized and memorized; again, in Form IV, but this time by the topical and comparative methods, where comparison is made of the purposes and achievements of the explorer with those of other explorers--Jacques Cartier, La Salle, etc.

In this third discussion a full knowledge of Champlain's work is given.

The excellence of this work lies in its review and repet.i.tion. The old or former knowledge is recalled and used in each succeeding discussion of the topic. The pupils grow gradually into fuller knowledge.

3. _Methods based on cla.s.s procedure_: Oral, Text-book

THE ORAL METHOD

This usually takes the form of an oral presentation of the story or description of the event by the teacher, while the pupils listen and afterwards reproduce what they have heard. The narration of the story is accompanied by pictures, sketches, maps, etc., ill.u.s.trative of persons, places, and facts mentioned. It may also take the "development" form, in which a combination of narrative and questioning is employed. (See pp.

66, 92.)

The Lecture method of Colleges and Universities is an advanced oral method. In this the teacher narrates and describes events, propounds questions, and discusses and answers them himself, while the pupils listen and during the lecture, or afterwards, make notes of what has been heard.

THE TEXT-BOOK METHOD

By this method the teacher a.s.signs a lesson in the book and, after the pupils have an opportunity to study it, he asks questions concerning the facts learned. The exclusive use of this method results ordinarily in dull, lifeless teaching, and with junior pupils will prevent their enjoying, or receiving much benefit from, the study of history. There are two reasons for the too general use of it--first, it is an easy method for the teacher, and secondly, it is easy for the pupils to memorize facts for the sole purpose of pa.s.sing examinations. While this criticism is true when an exclusive use is made of the text-book, the same cannot be said when the text-book is used as an auxiliary to the teacher. Following the oral presentation of the story, reference may be made to the book for another version or for a fuller account and, in Form IV, topics may be a.s.signed and the pupils directed to consult the text-book for the necessary information. (See pp. 26, 28.)

The text-book should be one that does not show an abrupt change from the story told by the teacher. It should not be merely a short outline of the important facts in history, written separately and then pieced together in chronological order, but should be written in a readable form by one who is able to distinguish the important and necessary from the unimportant and burdensome. It should have short summaries at the ends of chapters or stories of events, so that a grasp of what has been read may be easily obtained. It should also have many pictures, ill.u.s.trations, and maps, to take the place of the teacher's explanations in the earlier stage. (On the use of the text-book, see p. 29.)

A COMBINATION OF THESE METHODS

General Description.--As each of the above methods has its strong and its weak points, we should attempt to combine the strong points into one method, varied to keep pace with the mental development of the pupil, and thus secure the best results. The general outline of such a combination may be given as follows: The "oral story" is to be used in the junior cla.s.ses, with "development" problems presented where helpful; in Form III the pupils should be introduced to the text-book (The History Reader for Form III), besides being taught by the oral method; in Form IV, the oral method is still to be the chief means used by the teacher, who will now, however, pay more attention to the arrangement of the matter (for example, in topical outlines), to accustom the pupils to grasp more thoroughly the relations of cause and effect in history. The topics of history will also be taken up more exhaustively than in the junior cla.s.ses, and the pupils must have more practice in acquiring knowledge from the text-books.

DETAILS OF METHOD

FORMS I, II

In Forms I and II, the pupils are accustomed to the oral reproduction of stories told by the teacher. In these should be included a good many historical stories, such as those suggested in the Course of Study in History for these Forms; they will serve the usual purposes of oral reproduction work for composition and literature, and will be, besides, a good foundation for the study of history in the higher forms. (For objects of the Story stage, see p. 16.)

The oral presentation of a story or description of an event requires a certain degree of skill on the part of a teacher--skill in story-telling, in grasping the important parts of the story or description, in knowing what details to omit as well as what to narrate, in explaining the story in a way that will make it real to the pupils, in preparing pictures and sketches to ill.u.s.trate the different parts, and in questioning so that the minds of the pupils will be active as well as receptive. The care and time necessary to secure this skill will be well repaid by the interest aroused in history, by the appreciation of the thoughts thus presented, and by the lasting impressions conveyed.

Simple, clear language should be employed, not necessarily small words, but words whose meaning is made clear by the context or ill.u.s.tration.

(For material for these Forms, see Bibliography, C, p. 132.)

When the whole story is told, revision may be made by having the pupils reproduce it after suitable questioning, either immediately or at some future time. Exercises in reproduction may also be given, for either seat work or cla.s.s work, in constructive or art work; for example, after the story of the North American Indians, the pupils may be asked to construct a wigwam, a canoe, a bow and arrow, or to make pictures of Indians, of their houses, of their dress, etc.

Further exercise in composition may also be given by having the pupils write the story. To each pupil may be a.s.signed a special part; for example, the story of Moses may be divided thus: (1) As a babe; (2) His adoption by the Princess; (3) His life at the palace; (4) His flight to Midian; (5) The Burning Bush, etc. The whole story is then reproduced by having these parts read aloud in a reading lesson.

FORM III

The value of the oral work done in Forms I and II will be realized by the teacher when the real study of history is begun in Forms III and IV. The pupils have a liking for the stories of history and have a knowledge of some of the leading actors and of the chief events in history that calls for more complete satisfaction.

There are several methods of using the History Reader which is the basis of the work in Form III. Perhaps the best method is to continue to make oral teaching the chief feature, and to add to that the use by the pupils, in various ways, of the History Reader.

For example, the teacher will tell the story of Jacques Cartier, following in the main the narrative as given in the History Reader. It is well, however, not to follow it too closely in order that, when the pupils come to read the story in the book for themselves, they will find it an interesting combination of the familiar and the new. For that reason, it will be necessary for the teacher to have prepared the story from a somewhat different narrative in some other book at her command.

In the telling of the story, problems may be asked, if thought advisable (see p. 33); a few headings may be placed on the black-board for subsequent reproduction, oral or written, by the pupils; all difficulties of p.r.o.nunciation, especially of proper names, should be attended to, orally and on the black-board; the places mentioned should be found on the map; pictures and sketches should be used; and in fact, every possible means taken to make the narrative more real to the cla.s.s.

(See p. 34.)

When the oral teaching is finished, the pupils may have the books to read at their desks, and they often ask permission to take them home.

They may sometimes be required to read aloud from the History Reader for supplementary practice in oral reading. Reproduction by the pupils, either immediately or in a subsequent lesson, should follow. Teachers, however, are advised not to insist on too much written reproduction, as that might very easily arouse a dislike for both history and written composition. Procedure as outlined above has had most gratifying results in the way of creating a liking for, and an intelligent interest in, the study of history.

Other methods have also had good results. The teacher may, instead of telling the story, read aloud from the Reader to pave the way for the reading of the story by the pupils themselves. Difficulties, either in language or in meaning, may be taken up as in a literature lesson. The pupils will at first find the reading somewhat difficult, but the interest generated by the teacher's reading or oral narrative will carry them through that stage till they acquire a love for reading history, and have enlarged their vocabulary till reading is no longer a burdensome task.

A taste of the more serious study of history may be given by asking the pupils a few not very difficult questions that they can answer only by combining facts contained in several stories. For example, in the chapters selected for Form III, Junior Grade, the answer can be found to a question about the explorers of Canada, the order of their visits, and a comparison of their work; to another question about the expansion of Canada from the little part of Quebec first visited to the whole of British North America.

It is unnecessary, perhaps, to add that the emphasis in Form III history should be still very largely on biography, so as to influence the forming of moral ideals by concrete examples.

FORM IV

Although the pupils have now had some experience in the use of the History Reader, yet that is no reason why oral teaching should be discarded in Form IV history, any more than in arithmetic or geography.

It is scarcely a high estimate to have of history, to think that pupils of this age can grasp even the simpler lines of development in history without guidance from the teacher. Hence it is necessary for the attainment of good results, that many of the lessons should be taught orally before the pupils are asked to study their books. The aim of the teaching should be not merely the acquisition of facts, but the welding of them together in a sequence of cause and effect, and the pupils at this stage can scarcely be expected to do that for themselves.

In preparing for a lesson in Form IV history, the teacher should a.n.a.lyse the incidents of the period to be studied, should see how certain causes have led to certain results, and should be sure enough of the facts to have little recourse to the text-book while teaching. It does not look like fair play to expect a cla.s.s to answer questions that the teacher cannot answer without consulting the text. On the other hand, it is refres.h.i.+ng to see the interest aroused in a cla.s.s by a teacher who thinks enough of the subject to be able to teach it without constant reference to the text-book. Therefore, let the oral method be here again the chief dependence of the teacher. In such a lesson, for example, as that on the Intercolonial Railway (see p. 82) no book is needed--only the map and the black-board.

TRAINING IN USE OF TEXT-BOOK